Center for Global Development’s “Global Health Policy Blog”: The Bad News Is Good News? The Problems of Graduating from Foreign Health Aid
CGD Senior Fellow William Savedoff poses three questions arising from attending “a working group set up under the auspices of UHC2030 to look at the problems facing countries that lose external funding for their health programs.” Savedoff asks, “1. Is there anything specific to losing external funding that isn’t already part of a country’s strategy to strengthen its health system? 2. If coordination among donors is needed, can that be achieved centrally or will it only happen within the countries receiving aid? 3. What is the right way to gauge a country’s own effort to mobilize resources?” He discusses each question, concluding, “Ultimately, the success of any of these transitions depends on what a country learns how to do for itself. But, aid agencies have an obligation to make that process more predictable and smoother” (4/12).